Captured, Injured and Helpless
by OneForSorrow333
Summary: After a battle with the Cyclonians, much to the dismay of the remaining Storm Hawks, Aerrow is unexpectedly captured by the Dark Ace and taken to Cyclonia. Wracked with grief, the Storm Hawks must pull themselves together and fight to get their Sky Knight back. Not very original, I know, but this is the result of writer's block and will be more in-depth. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter One: Capture

**A/N: So hey everyone! What can I say? I've been part of the Storm Hawks fandom for years now but I've never been brave enough to upload any of the randoms fanfics that have been laying around on my computer for the past, what, year? :PAnd this one is the result of writer's block (yay D:) So I hope you enjoy :D**

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><p>It had been hours. Or was it days? It was all a blur.<p>

All Aerrow knew was that he had been stuck in this prison for a _long_ time.

He was huddled in the corner of a dark cell, deep in the heart of Cyclonia. At least, that was what he assumed. Blurry images of battle clouded his mind and the memory of a fiery, red ball of light shooting towards him. Then everything had gone black.

A sudden thought crossed his mind: his team. Were they okay? Were they injured like him? Aerrow fervently hoped they were fine. The gash in his arm throbbed painfully and he shifted his weight slightly, resting his head on the cold, concrete wall.

A sudden noise broke into his head. The sound of the cell doors opening and clanging shut again. A figure the Sky Knight never see again broke into his line of sight.

"Looks like our guest is awake," the Dark Ace sneered.

"What do you want?" Aerrow snarled, glaring up at him with green eyes dark with anger.

"Master Cyclonis wants do some... _Tests,_" the commander grabbed Aerrow by the shoulder and hauled him roughly to his feet.

"_Guards,_" Dark Ace rapped out. Two talons strode out from either side of the cell door. "Take the prisoner to Cyclonis." The two men nodded and dragged the Sky Knight out of the cell. He resisted, only to be prodded in the back by one of the Talon's staffs, causing him to jerk forward painfully.

They made their way, with difficulty, down the corridors, to pause by a single door in which Aerrow was roughly shoved into. The door clanged shut behind him.

He glared up into the violet, glimmering eyes of his enemy.

"So," Cyclonis hissed in distaste. "what do we have here?"

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><p>Orange eyes wide with disbelief, Piper stared up at Finn as he solemnly explained what had happened. She could barely register what had happened. Aerrow, missing? She couldn't believe it. It seemed like something that would happen in her nightmares.<p>

"You're kidding me, right?" she gasped out, hoping it was one of the blonde's terrible jokes. Finn shook his head slowly, blue eyes filled with fear and disbelief. Piper drew in a shaky breath.

"Let me guess. We're going to Cyclonia to save him," Stork sighed.

"What other choice do we have?" Finn shot back hotly. Piper barely heard them. She drew in another breath.

"We're gonna have to have an extra detailed plan," Finn smiled at the girl weakly. Piper stared at him in surprise, amber eyes brimming with tears. Finn always _hated_ it when she made detailed plans and made every excuse to not follow them.

"Because this time, we can't take any chances,"

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><p><strong>AN: I can't help thinking that the ending was rushed there. But I'll go back and edit it later :) So, did you love it? Hate it? Let me know by reviewing :)**

**Thanks for reading this far :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Torture

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm surprised anyone read this, let alone reviewed it... *awkward cough***

**And thanks for the constructive criticism CrystalSparkyStar, I actually just noticed about those daft mistakes I made haha :P thanks for pointing them out :) I'm gonna go back and edit those parts once I've figured out how xP (and I have no idea where 'rapped' came from XD)**

**Anyhoo, enough babbling, on with the story! :D**

**P.S I can't believe I forgot this but I don't own Storm Hawks, Nerd Corps does... If I did, there would be a series three, four, etc :) *sniff***

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><p>Glaring up at his enemy, Aerrow struggled to his feet seconds after the door slammed shut behind him. His green eyes scanned the room swiftly, searching for any way he could escape if he needed to. Although, he was already feeling the need to run, with Cyclonis' violet gaze watching his every move.<p>

"There's no escape, Sky Knight," she hissed, and Aerrow's heart beat faster in his chest as he realized she was right. He turned slightly to face her.

"What do you want?" the Sky Knight snarled, resisting the urge to leap at her there and then.

The young empress ignored his demand.

"I was hoping that Dark Ace would capture the girl. But you will do just fine. After all, you'll be excellent as bait for the rest of your precious friends," Cyclonis grinned, twirling her staff in her hands and pointing it at the teenager.

"Don't you dare hurt them, or I'll-"

"You'll what? Face it, _Aerrow_, you can't win!" she snarled, and with a burst of red light he was suddenly pinned against the wall, unable to move. He gasped for breath as the tightness around his chest increased.

"Join me, and I'll stop." Cyclonis simply said.

"I'd rather- die!" Aerrow hissed as the pain in his body increased with every second.

"That can be arranged," the empress smirked and the grip on his chest loosened, and he suddenly collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving.

"_Guards._ Take him to his cell. We'll continue _tomorrow._" she grinned as two guards dragged the barely conscious boy out of the room.

A voice sounded behind her. " That Sky Knight doesn't seem to be bending to your will very easily," remarked the Dark Ace, stepping out from where he'd been watching from the corner.

"Oh, he will. Give him a few days of constant torture - no-one can handle _that _for long. Not even a Sky Knight,"

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><p>A young, teenage girl curled herself into an even tighter ball as the sound of footsteps sounded behind her. As she leaned her head against the cold, concrete wall, two men strode into the cell, dragging a tall figure between the two of them and she glanced up as the figure was tossed in. The boy looked about her own age, maybe a few years older.<p>

When she was sure the guards had disappeared around the corner, she crawled over to the boy and stared down at him. His messy red hair was matted with dirt and his face was twisted into a look of pure agony. His arm was almost definitely broken just underneath the elbow. She shook gently at his shoulder, so as not to cause the boy any more pain.

The teenager suddenly stared up at her with piercing emerald eyes and his face turned into a look of confusion. Wincing in pain as he pushed himself up against the wall, he squinted up at her in puzzlement.

"_Who are you?"_

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><p><strong>AN: Yay! New character! I was debating about using her but as you can see I decided to :D Sorry for such a short chapter, they'll get longer, I promise :) I'm not sure if it's just me, but this chapter doesn't seem to flow very well, but I don't know why D: Please review and possibly tell me what I'm doing wrong D:**

**Thanks for reading and the reviews :)**

**See you in Chapter three :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Plans

**A/N: So, sorry for the long-ish wait, but life got in the way and, well, I'm not going to go into detail about that :L And thanks for the lovely reviews, guys :) You guessed pretty close, CrystalSparkyStar, but not quite, haha :P But I'll let you read about that :D**

**Anyway, enough blabbing, on with the story! :D**

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><p>"Any luck?"<p>

Finn stood outside of the crystal lab, staring worriedly at the slumped shape of Piper leaning against the desk. She shook her head miserably.

"Everything I think of... It always has some kind of flaw," she muttered dejectedly. "And we can't afford to have any. Not with Aerrow's life at risk." Piper turned her head to regard Finn with her sad amber eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? You've been in here for two days," Finn raised an eyebrow, swiftly changing the subject.

"No, I can't. I've got to come up with a plan," Piper protested weakly. The sharpshooter ambled slowly to her side.

"Fine, fine. But don't you want any help then?" Finn questioned, and Piper shook her head again. Burying her head in her arms, she mumbled, "I just wish I could have done something. Anything, so he could be here now," Muffled sobs sounded from her direction.

"We all wish we could have done something," Finn put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry, 'cause we're going to come up with the best plan ever!" The crystal mage glanced up, her eyes filled with fresh tears, and for the first time in days, she smiled weakly up at him.

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><p>Staggering backwards, Aerrow stared up at the unfamiliar teenage girl in front of him. "Who <em>are<em> you?" he questioned again.

"Leah... My name's Leah," she replied quietly, shivering slightly.

"Are you hurt? And why are you in the Cyclonian dungeons?" he said in concern, stepping forward to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I was gonna say the same thing about you," she shot back, shrugging his hand off. "but if you really want to know, the Cyclonians captured me from my Terra a couple of days ago,"

Aerrow pondered this for a moment, staring intently at Leah and putting a hand to his neck.

"_What?_" she glared up at him underneath her dark purple fringe.

Aerrow glanced away, and turned back to look at her again. "Uh, nothing. You just... Remind me of someone I know," he muttered thoughtfully.

"And that _is?"_

The Sky Knight was silent for a moment. "Just a girl I met a while ago. It was a mission, we were trying to shut down a Cyclonian Talon Academy, I think."

Putting her head on one side, Leah murmured, "My sister went to the Talon Academy once. She came back going on about some Sky Knight and defeating some Talons," she shrugged.

"Your sister... What was her name?" Aerrow questioned, although he already knew the answer, growing uneasier with every breath he took.

"Lynn... Her name was Lynn," she glanced at the boy who was staring at her in amazement. "You're Aerrow, aren't you? She kept going on about you," Aerrow glanced up in surprise. He wasn't expecting this; not in a million years. Lynn had never mentioned a sister.

A sudden noise made them spin around: the cell door creaking open and an all-too-familiar figure sauntered over to them.

"Master Cyclonis wants you," the Dark Ace hissed distastefully, grabbing hold of Aerrow's injured arm and dragging him through the door, causing the Sky Knight to cry out in pain.

"_Aerrow!" _Leah cried desperately as he was dragged further away from her.

"Don't worry about me," Aerrow's voice floated towards her from down the corridor, growing fainter with every moment. "_I'll be back,"_

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><p>Two hours of pondering, chewing pencils, scribbling ideas on a piece of paper, and general <em>planning<em> later, Finn and Piper burst into the bridge and announced to the remaining Storm Hawks, "Listen up guys! We have a rescue plan!"

Junko, and Radarr turned their heads towards the two bedraggled figures, then raced over to them. Stork glanced over once, then carried on steering the ship. Gathering around the table, Piper spread down a large piece of paper on the surface and stared up at Junko and Radarr with a tear-stained face.  
>"So, here's what we do..."<p>

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><p><strong>AN: So, the new character is fully introduced! :D But I dislike this chapter a lot... and I don't know why... It's probably similar to the last chapter's problem D: But please review, and tell me what you think... Cos I'm stumped :L**

**See you in the next chapter guys :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I've been in Wales since Saturday and crappy internet connection, thanks to waterlogged wires at the house, plus no laptop to type up anything on resulted in a bit of a long wait... Sorry guys! :( Hopefully this chapter will make up for it, heehee...**

**Enjoooy ^_^**

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><p>The echos of the boy's screams and the frustrated shouts of Cyclonis rang around the walls of the cell for an hour, soon after Aerrow had been dragged out of the cell. It made Leah wonder what the Sky Knight had done to deserve this. He seemed innocent enough, she thought. <em>I guess he's been a thorn in Cyclonis' side for too long. S<em>he pondered that thought for a moment before pulling her legs closer to her chest, her head laying on it's side on her knees.

The boy seemed far from who her sister had described; far from the brave, strong Sky Knight she had been told about. More like an exhausted and lonely teenager. To be fair, he had been stuck in this _prison _for days without any food or water, and he was hurt.

The thought of her sister made her want to cry. The last she had seen of Lynn was when she was captured after the Cyclonians attacked her Terra.

She hadn't seen her seen her since.

A sudden sound made her look up: the cell door creaking open. Two talons strode in, dragging a barely conscious teenager between them. She didn't dare make any movement until she was sure the talons had gone, then crawled over to Aerrow.

"_Aerrow!" _she hissed into his ear. He let out a quiet cough and pushed himself up onto his elbows. Wincing, he muttered a quiet "Ow," before staring up at Leah.

"How long was I gone for?" he questioned hoarsely.

"Uh, about an hour," she whispered back. "Are you alright?"

"I don't think 'alright' is the best word for it..." he muttered.

Leah glanced at him worriedly, then stumbled over to the door and peered out. Two guards were standing, as usual, either side of the doorway.

"Dark Ace and Cyclonis aren't there," she informed Aerrow with relief.

"Thank Atmos," Aerrow wheezed back from where he was, leaning his head against the wall with his eyes shut.

"Aerrow, are you okay?" Leah said worriedly, making her way slowly over to him. He nodded silently, eyes still closed. She lowered herself next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even flinch.

Eyes searching his body for injuries, she nearly had to do a double-take when she noticed a deep, long gash travelling down from his shoulder to his elbow.

"Is this what she did to you?" she gasped, studying Aerrow's face for emotion as he flinched away from her touch.

"_Oh, she did a lot more than that_," he muttered, almost inaudible. Leah sharp ears heard it anyway. She turned towards him, and said, "What do you mean?"

But the Sky Knight had already fallen into a fitful sleep.

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><p>Heels rapping rhythmically on the metal floor, Piper paced yet <em>again <em>around the deck of the _Condor_.

"Keep that up and you'll pace a hole into the floor," Finn called irritably from where he was sat. She ignored him and continued walking around. She could feel Finn's eyes watching her as she did another round around the deck. A sudden thought broke into her mind.

"Any sign of Radarr?" she called back, pausing in her pacing to look at Finn. Ever since Aerrow had been taken, Radarr hadn't come out of the Sky Knight's old room.

Not _old _room. Still _his_ room. She had to stop thinking like that. They were going to get him back.

"Nope." came Finn's reply. Piper sighed and stopped her pacing to stand next to Stork by the controls.

"How far away are we from Cyclonia?" she asked the pilot. His eye twitched as he replied. "Not far. About half an hour left to our certain death," Piper resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him.

Staring out of the window, she could almost see Aerrow, performing his stunts and tricks and flipping around in the air. He loved to fly.

Not loved. _Loves.__  
><em>

Letting out a long sigh, she decided to retreat to her room, and as she turned the handle and stepped into her room, she let her confident look collapse into a much more sad and _real _one. She crumpled onto her bed and lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Piper's gaze flickered around the room and her eyes instantly found the part of the wall covered with photographs. Slowly stepping off her bed she wandered over to it and gazed up at the pictured, eyes filling with fresh tears as she found a certain one.

A picture of her and Aerrow, Radarr hanging off his shoulder as he usually would be, his arm around her shoulders and smiling brightly towards the camera. Sighing quietly, she stared at the picture longingly and turned and collapsed onto her bed again, a single tear trickling down her cheek.

And half an hour later, Stork's voice came over the intercom.

"_Aproaching Cyclonia,"_

She leaped off the bed and over to the door. With a last glance at the photo of her and Aerrow, she smiled weakly and made her way down to the bridge.

_Time to get their Sky Knight back._

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I know, nothing really happened in this chapter, but it kind of describes how much the team (well, more Piper) is missing Aerrow... Ugh but I don't even know, haha... I kind of had no inspiration the first part so if you're wondering that's why it doesn't flow that well :|**

**See ya next chapter! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, I've had quite few reviews, so thank yerrrr guys :D **

**Okay, I'm really tired so this may not be as good but I was listening to the Dan and Phil Show so maybe not :D**

**Enjoyyyy...**

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><p>Slinking slowly through a small doorway, Piper glanced quickly both ways before sprinting across the hall. She was in the Cyclonian dungeons and for the past hour she had been sneaking around looking for a certain red-headed teenager. So far, she had had no luck, finding every cell either empty or with someone that wasn't Aerrow.<p>

She, Finn and Junko had split up to search different areas of the dungeons. Piper was slinking around the lower third of the dark place – deep down, she knew she had only chosen this place because she knew Aerrow would more than likely be here.

Sudden her radio crackled into life and she answered it immediately. Finn's voice burst into her ear.

"_Any luck?_"

"_Nope. You?"_she replied hopefully.

_"Nope."_came the reply.

Piper sighed and put the radio back in her pocket and peered around into another cell. It was empty; like her hope – it was simply fading away.

Doubt suddenly began to fill her mind. _What if he's not here? What if he's somewhere else?_

_What if he's d-_

_No._ She had to believe they would find him.

Squinting through the darkness, she came to the last cell in the row and peered in. It was empty too. Piper rested her head against the wall in despair, and as she did, her amber eyes caught sight of a vent in the wall. She tiptoed silently over to it and tried to pull the rusty cover away. It moved slightly and with some persuasion it came away and fell to the floor with a loud _clang,_making her wince. Piper crawled into it with difficulty, not knowing where it would lead or what to.

Finally, she reached the end. As she eased herself out, she was greeted by another row of cells. She checked the first one, and found it was empty.

No surprise there.

Slowly, Piper checked each one, until she reached the end. And there she found what she was looking for.

An all-too familiar figure was curled up in a corner, and as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could tell from outside the cell bars he was in a bad way.

Fumbling with the lock, she felt like cheering with sheer joy and crying in fear for his safety, and finally the lock sprang open. Piper carefully stepped in and pulled the door to. She then rushed joyfully over to Aerrow.

"Aerrow!" she whispered and Aerrow shifted his position slightly before opening his emerald eyes and he squinted at her before speaking.

"_Piper?_ W- what are you doing here?" he muttered hoarsely.

"Getting you out, silly," she whispered back.

"Are you okay?" Aerrow said, narrowing his normally-bright green eyes at her, trying to find injuries.

"Me? I'm fine. It's you I'm more concerned about," she smiled weakly at her friend, holding her hand out to him. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Aerrow's face seemed to pale slightly at those words. A shuffle of feet sounded behind her but she ignored it, more concerned about her friend. "What's wrong?" she said in confusion.

"Nothing, it's just I-"

Suddenly, she felt hands grip her shoulder and she was pulled backwards and was then pushed against the wall. A female face filled her vision, one very familiar but she couldn't quite place it, although, that wasn't the most important thing on her mind at that moment.

She heard Aerrow cry "Leah! _Stop!_ She's a friend!" and she felt the grip on her shoulders loosen slightly.

Piper could suddenly see Aerrow standing in front of them. "_Leah._ Let go of her,"

Reluctantly, she let go of her and I glanced at Aerrow, who looked a bit flushed. She could feel the other girl's eyes glaring daggers in her back, and she turned to see the purple-haired girl staring at her.

There was a cough behind her and she glanced around to see Aerrow leaning against the wall, and he let out another cough.

"Are you alright, Aerrow?" she gasped and rushed to his side, followed by the other girl supposedly called Leah.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

A sudden sound made them jump and spin around. A very familiar shape filled the doorway and stepped forward.

"Well, what do we have here?" he stepped towards Aerrow and grabbed him by the collar.

"Master Cyclonis has been waiting for you. She will be _ever_ so pleased you decided to join us," Dark Ace snarled, and two guards appeared by his side and grabbed Piper and Leah. Fear clouded the two girl's eyes, but Aerrow just stared ahead determinately, not even flinching when Dark Ace twisted his arm back roughly.

Then the three teenagers were dragged down the thin hallway, leaving the cell behind them empty.

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><p>Finn grabbed hold of his radio and tried to radio in Piper, but all he heard was crackling from the metal box.<p>

"_Piper?_ Come in!" he tried and tried again but there was no reply. He stepped forward along the corridor whilst talking in to the radio. Finn finally gave up after ten minutes.

Thinking for a moment, he put the radio back to his ear.

"_Junko? We've got a problem..."_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, I thought it was about time I updated this story, so... Here you go ;)**

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><p>Holding back a yell of protest as she was tossed carelessly into a large, dark and empty room, Piper dragged her weary body into a sitting position and then she struggled to her feet. Orange eyes darting around the room, Piper sprang forward as she was prodded in the back with a crystal-tipped spear. Her eyes searched for Aerrow, and she was met with a sorry sight; he was stood with his head bowed, supporting himself using the wall, and he looked like he could hardly stand.<p>

The Sky Knight raised his head and threw her a reassuring glance. Suddenly, Aerrow was yanked away and she stared as two talons forced his hands into a pair of shackles.

What worried her most was the fact that he barely made any attempt to free himself.

As if on cue, two figures, one short, one taller, stepped through the doorway and Piper's heart sank as she realized who it was.

"So, isn't it my best friend forever?" Cyclonis hissed, growing closer with every second. Piper simply glared back at her.

"What do you want?" she snapped. Cyclonis smirked, and let out a single malicious laugh.

"You really don't know?" the empress smirked. "Think about it. Without the Sky Knight, your squadron can barely function. How can they cope without their navigator?" Piper flinched as Cyclonis said those words. She didn't like to admit it, but her enemy was right. Closing her eyes briefly, she quickly snapped her eyes open.

"What do you want with her, then?" she snarled, gesturing at Leah, who had been cowering in the corner the entire time. "Let's just say she has something I want," Cyclonis smirked. Piper opened her mouth to make a snark reply but the young empress cut her off. "Dark Ace! Set up the device. I think it's time to show our guests a new invention," Piper's orange eyes widened with surprise and confusion at those words, and glanced up at Aerrow. His once-bright emerald eyes were filled with fear.

Tossing him a questioning glance, she turned to watch Dark Ace pick up a pair of red crystals and make his way to Aerrow and he forced the crystals into two holes on either of the tight shackles around Aerrow's wrists.

Piper's amber eyes then narrowed in confusion as Cyclonis picked up a deep violet crystal and tightened her hand around it. Immediately, Aerrow flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. As the young empress squeezed her hand tighter around the violet crystal, the Sky Knight let out a quiet cry of agony.

"_Aerrow!_" Piper yelled, and jumped to her feet, but before she could take a single step forward a pair of bulky Talons sprinted over and held her back.

"You can make it stop, Piper," Cyclonis said simply as her hand tightened even more around the dark crystal. The crystal mage hardly heard her enemy as Aerrow let out a loud yell of pain and Piper struggled against the Talons' strong grip to try and reach her friend.

"Stop!" Cyclonis yelled. "Piper, if you join me, I'll let go of the crystal. If you refuse, well, you know the result," she smirked and gestured towards Aerrow.

Piper stopped struggling and blinked shut her eyes briefly, knowing that even though if she refused she would go free, she couldn't watch her friend suffer.

"Don't do it Piper! She's just playing with your head!" Aerrow shouted over to her, his voice filled with pain. Piper's eyes snapped open again and her mind suddenly blanked. She had no idea what to say back to Cyclonis.

Piper had never been in a situation like this. She had always had a plan, for everything. She was always prepared for everything.

Everything but something like this.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, and she buried her face in her hands as Aerrow's screams and cries of agony filled the small room.

A sudden, loud noise made her lift her head from her hands, and a familiar voice washed over her ears.

"Aerrow! Piper!"

"Finn! Thank goodness..." Piper yelled, and with a new found strength she kicked out at the Talons holding her and rushed to Aerrow's side. Sounds of Finn shooting his crossbow filled the room, and Piper had never been so relieved to hear that sound in her life.

"_Aerrow_!" she whispered in his ear and he groaned. Fiddling with the shackles, she vaguely heard Junko's voice in the room as well.

"Thank Atmos..." she muttered to herself as the first shackle came undone and Aerrow's limp arm fell to his side. Piper started to undo the second one and soon enough it fell open, and the Sky Knight would have collapsed if she hadn't caught him.

"You okay?" she asked, and mentally slapped herself the instant she said it. She could see for herself that he wasn't. Despite it, Aerrow nodded. Piper _supported_ him and they struggled over to where Finn was holding his own against Dark Ace. Using one hand, she fired a couple of shots towards the crimson-eyed man and he fell away, barely conscious.

"Thanks," Finn smiled at her gratefully and she returned it. Watching Finn sprint over to where Junko was fighting Cyclonis, she leaned against Aerrow's weight, thankful that they had finally found their Sky Knight. Even though, he did seem to be on the edge of consciousness, and he let out a quiet moan.

A couple of minutes later, when Cyclonis seemed to have fallen unconscious and Finn and Junko jogged over to her.

" Are you okay?" Finn demanded.

"I am, but I'm not so sure about Aerrow," Piper replied worriedly.

Junko glanced back at the two unconscious figures on the floor and said, "Come on guys, let's go before they wake up!"

"_Hang on." _Aerrow suddenly muttered, and the group watched in confusion as he limped heavily over to the corner. He came back a couple of minutes later he came staggering over to them, supporting a female figure on his shoulder.

"Leah! Oh my goodness!" Piper cried and rushed over to support them both. "Let's go, quickly!"

Junko strode over and helped the terrified girl struggle over to the doorway whilst Piper helped Aerrow.

Together, the Storm Hawks, finally reunited, struggled down the long hallway, and towards freedom.

And a few seconds later, a high-pitched alarm began to ring.

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><p><strong>AN: Did you like it? Hate it? Tell me in a review :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue

**A/N: Thought I may as well update this :) I would have updated it sooner but I may have been staring at youtubers all evening *coughdanisnotonfirecough* anyway, I am aware of a few mistakes in the last chapter and if i have time i will edit those out :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Storm Hawks. If I did, I would be working on series three rather than writing this D:**

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><p>Feeling Piper's hand grab his wrist as soon as the alarms began to ring, Aerrow felt a sharp pain fly down the arm she pulled. He barely noticed it as panic started to set in his mind. He glanced over his shoulder to see Leah and Junko struggling behind him and he surged forward as he noticed a single Talon sprinting toward them. Watching Piper defend herself against the talon, he tripped over his own feet and the world seemed to move in slow motion for a split second. As he struggled to pull himself to his feet, he suddenly felt dizzy and let out a quiet cough. <em>Spending a week in Cyclonia has really got to me. <em>He thought to himself as he regained his footing and carried on running - or rather, limping.

A yell of alarm from Finn alerted him to the swarm of Talons which suddenly appeared behind him and swiftly swung his fist towards them, and he thought he saw one fall, but he wasn't sure.

"Aerrow! Look out!" Aerrow heard Finn yell and his eyes widened as he saw a crystal blast looming towards his face. He quickly ducked, just in time. It was so close he could feel the blast burn the tips of his hair.

A sharp pain exploded in his back and with a yell he twisted around to see same talon who had nearly hit him mere seconds before. Aerrow could feel a small trickle of blood escape the wound and he flinched.

A odd noise and a small scream alerted him to Piper, who was suddenly clutching her arm as she ran whilst dragging Aerrow's weight at the same time. He sprinted a bit faster to try and catch up with her.

"Are you alright?" he gasped breathlessly, surprised at how raspy his voice was. Piper nodded and smiled weakly back at him.

As the group made their way down the endless hallways followed by the mob of talons, Aerrow vaguely heard someone yell, it was either Finn or Junko.

"Look, there's a way out!"

His eyes snapped forward, and sure enough, a small light was looming ahead of them. For the first time in a long while, he sprinted forward and he could feel the breeze hit his cheeks and his mind instantly felt clearer.

As if the situation couldn't get any better, Aerrow's eyes caught sight of a pile of familiar skimmers at the edge of the terra. A breath he didn't realise he had been holding escaped from his mouth and he rushed towards them, but Finn and Piper beat him to it. Junko settled Lynn down behind Piper who had already leaped on to her skimmer, and Finn shouted impatiently for him to get on. Aerrow limped as fast as possible over to Finn's skimmer and squeezed himself onto the skimmer behind Finn.

"Let's go!" he yelled hoarsely and he suddenly felt slightly light headed as Finn sped forward on his skimmer. The wind whipped through his hair as they gathered speed and they swiftly took off, followed by a shout of "Watch out!"

Aerrow's eyes snapped behind him, and he could clearly see dozens of talons swarming towards him like bees. "Finn, behind you!" he shouted over the whistling wind and the yells of surprise from the other Storm Hawks.

Aerrow watched Finn glance behind him and tense up, then speed up to try and outrun them. He suddenly had an odd feeling, a sort of instinct, and he flashed a glance behind him. The first thing he saw was a couple of talons falling from broken skimmers towards the randomly scattered terra-like structures and the wastelands. But, then he noticed something else.

A single talon aiming his crossbow directly at the pair. Aerrow's eyes widened and yelled a warning at Finn but it was too late. The blast hit the blonde's skimmer with great force and the nose of the skimmer dropped slightly. Another hit rattled through his bones, and this is where problems _really _began. The skimmer began to spiral towards the endless abyss that was the wastelands.

"_Shit!_" Aerrow yelled and the ground of one of the terras below them loomed up all too quickly. A millisecond before they hit the ground, he yelled to his panic-stricken friend, "Finn, jump!" as he did so himself, and he hit the ground with a painful bone-splintering _crack_. The last thought before blackness took over his vision was,

"_I just hope he jumped..."_

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><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know this chapter is pretty crap. And short. But I hope you don't mind :| See you in the next chapter! Xx :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It's been a while since I updated this isn't it? Sorry guys...**

**Just a small heads up: this chapter is really short. And yeah. Plus, the time till the next update might be a while cos i have homework to do which I'm putting off by doing this... XD**

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><p>Firing a couple of shots at the incoming talons, Piper felt Leah shift slightly and tense behind her. Her eyes snapped to the left and she quickly aimed at another talon before ducking out of the way of another ball of electricity that was flying towards her face.<p>

"Piper... Look..." a gasp from behind her made her look the other way and what she noticed struck her with dread. Aerrow and Finn's smoking skimmer was careering towards the wastelands and the small terras beneath them.

"_No!_" she cried and twisted her skimmer around, then sped after her friends.

To her relief, their skimmer seemed to have crashed onto one of the small terras - but that didn't mean it was any better. Piper flew down and landed as quickly as she could. Helping Leah jump off the heliscooter, she quickly sprinted over to an unconscious figure on the floor.

"Aerrow!" she whispered, checking his neck for a pulse, fortunately finding one. Piper shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him, but he simply groaned and stayed half conscious. She glanced around, panicking slightly. Leah stood a couple of feet behind her.

"Is he alright?" were the words that came out of the girl's mouth.

"I don't know. I hope so," Piper murmured, examining a deep wound on the Sky Knight's arm.

He suddenly began to stir and let out a cough. Aerrow's green eyes fluttered open and met her's suddenly. Another cough escaped his lips and he ran a hand through his red hair, closing his eyes briefly. A quiet groan escaped his lips.

"What the hell just happened?" he muttered, pushing himself up with his uninjured arm into a sitting position.

"Your skimmer crashed. Are you alright?" she replied with worry in her voice.

He nodded wearily. "Where's Finn?" he asked.

"That's a good question," she muttered. "I'll be back in a moment," she added over her shoulder as she stumbled over in the opposite direction.

Piper walked quickly around the wrecked skimmer and her pace quickened as she noticed a figure lying spreadeagled on the ground. "Finn!" she cried and sprinted a couple of strides to his side. He slowly began to stir, his blue eyes fluttering open.

"You alright?"

The boy nodded and pushed himself to his feet, his legs almost buckling. Piper caught him before he fell.

"You sure?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Finn nodded and he stumbled forward. "Come on, let's go and find the others."

"The others? Are they okay?" Piper didn't reply as they found themselves by Aerrow and Leah's side. Leah was holding what seemed like a piece of her sleeve which she had ripped off to the gash on Aerrow's arm which was bleeding fairly heavily. Piper let Finn sit down next to the Sky Knight. She dumped herself next to them and sighed.

"Now, I guess we wait." she murmured, her amber eyes fixed on the sky.

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><p>The Dark Ace flew his skimmer away from Cyclonia, towards the faint sounds of battle. Honestly, he wanted to kill those Storm Hawks; they had taken him completely by surprise and knocked him unconscious, and as a result of that, the damned Sky Knight had escaped with them, as well as the girl. He had a feeling he would not be in Cyclonis' best books if he came back without the prisoners.<p>

As he flew directly into the battle, he couldn't help glancing around. Where were the rest of the Storm Hawks? He could see hardly any members of the squadron. His eyes were drawn down, and as he did he noticed some human-like figures on one of the small terras below him.

Now, the Dark Ace wasn't usually this curious about something like this. But, he had a odd feeling that he wouldn't regret investigating. Beckoning a couple of talons to follow him, he began speeding downwards towards the small terra, a malicious grin on his face.

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><p>As Piper squinted towards the sky, she noticed a skimmer speeding towards them and at first she assumed it was Junko coming to find them. But then, she noticed a few more skimmers behind the first.<p>

"Who is that?" she said in confusion. Aerrow's eyes snapped open the instant she said those words.

"What?" he rasped.

"Who's that, coming towards us?" she watched Aerrow's eyes widen and fill with fear.

"Aerrow, what is it?" she demanded.

"Isn't that... Isn't that Dark Ace?" he muttered, dread filling his voice. "And I think those are talons..."

"_Crap._"

The one thought that circled around her head as Dark Ace and the half dozen talons sped towards her was '_This is not a good situation to be in...'_

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><p><strong>AN: after one bad situation they're being thrown into another! I'm so mean, eheh...**

**I'm sorry this chapter is so bad. I can't help feeling that this story keeps getting worse and worse. D:**

**Please leave a review, I appreciate every one of them and i read every one of them :)**

**thanks for reading this far and i'll see you in the next chapter :D xox**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Well I updated this in pretty decent time compared to normal :3 hope you like, and don't forget to review XD**

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><p>As Dark Ace and the talons drew nearer, Aerrow felt a wave of fear wash over him and he exchanged a glance with Piper, knowing she was probably thinking what he was thinking. That they had no quick escape if they got into a sticky situation, and it was clear that was going to happen. His shoulder gave a sharp throb and he winced. He had crashed shoulder first and he was finding it hard to move. The Sky Knight didn't like to admit it, but he was exhausted, weak and hurt and he knew the rest of his team probably felt the same. He was in no shape for a fight but he knew what he had to do.<p>

Aerrow pushed himself off the floor and shakily onto his feet. The world swayed slightly and he put a hand to his head, trying to shake away the dizziness. Catching Piper's eye, he grinned reassuringly at her, which quickly turned into a grimace.

She walked slowly over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" she whispered tiredly, and he nodded. His eyes closed briefly and she narrowed her eyes worriedly. "Are you sure? You don't seem like it."

"I'm fine, Piper. What we should really be concentrating on is getting away from them," he muttered, nodding towards the talons. With one last glance at him Piper took a step away and whipped out her staff. With a jolt, Aerrow realized his blades were still on Cyclonia. _That's not going to make this any easier,_ he thought to himself with an internal sigh.

A few electric-like balls of energy flashed past him, millimeters away from his skin. He jumped sideways and took a deep breath before ducking to avoid another shot. His shoulder screamed at him and a gasp of pain escaped his mouth, and before he could take another breath he suddenly noticed Dark Ace and the other talons had landed. The red-head stumbled backwards towards the other Storm Hawks, raising his fists in weak defense. He felt panic rising as the Dark Ace drew closer with every second.

"What do you want?" the Sky Knight snarled, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"My instructions were to destroy the Storm Hawks," Dark Ace hissed. "And I'm going to start with _you!_" A heartbeat later the Dark Ace had shoved him roughly to the floor and his foot was on Aerrow's chest; not that he had the energy to move, but his enemy didn't need to know that.

Dark Ace's crackling sword was suddenly against his neck, and Aerrow tried to lean away from the blade as far away as he could. He let out another choking breath as Dark Ace hesitated, a malicious gleam in his eyes.

"Or, I can make them watch you suffer," the talon commander smirked and the Dark Ace's foot pushed down until there was a satisfying crack, and an intense pain lit afire in Aerrow's chest. A yell escaped his lips and he could hear the protests of his team behind him. He barely heard them as he was yanked up by his hair. His legs were shaking and he took in raspy breaths. What was wrong with him? Why was he so _weak? _

The teenager was shaken out of his thoughts as Dark Ace lifted the hilt of his blade and slammed it down onto the Sky Knight's elbow. Another crack echoed into the cold air. This time, he could barely hold back a scream and his legs buckled as he collapsed to the floor. He was left there, gasping for breath.

Everything was slowly turned hazy and the world faded to black.

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><p>Piper slowly opened her eyes, having scrunched them shut when Dark Ace had broken one of her Sky Knight's ribs. She could see her friend sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed and he wasn't moving.<p>

"_Aerrow!_" she yelled and fought against the talons holding her arm, trying to break free from their grip. It was no use. Their grip was like iron. She exchanged a worried look with Finn, who looked like he could barely stand. She flashed him a weak smile, trying to reassure him. Leah was on the other side of Finn; Piper had nearly forgotten about the girl. The purple-haired girl looked horror-stricken and her eyes were fixed on Aerrow's limp figure. Dark Ace stood over him, looking pleased with himself.

Piper didn't notice the rumbling for a couple of seconds. When she did, she felt her heart lift with hope as she recognized the sound.

"_No, it can't be..._"

The sound grew louder and Piper turned her head slightly to see a familiar shape soaring through the sky towards them.

"The Condor!" she breathed and everyone but the unconscious Aerrow turned to stare. A couple of shots flew through the air and hit the ground without striking anyone. The talons fled, much to Piper's relief and soon the Dark Ace followed; they had obviously realized that there was no use trying to defend themselves against the ship.

The crystal mage rushed over to Aerrow and shook at his shoulder. "Aerrow? Aerrow! Can you hear me?" she cried into his ear, hoping for a response. There was none.

The sound of an incoming skimmer washed over Piper's ears and she turned to see Junko flying towards them, waving a hand. She indicated for him to come over to her and he quickly landed, and rushed clumsily over to her.

"What happened?" he breathed in shock.

"I'll explain later, just get Aerrow onto the Condor," she murmered and Junko nodded, gently picking up the Sky Knight and making his way slowly to his skimmer. She beckoned for Leah and Finn to follow her onto her skimmer. There was hardly room for all three of them but they would have to make do. Piper started up the heliscooter and sped towards the ship, and she was greeted on the hanger bay by Radarr. They were soon followed by Junko, Aerrow's limp figure in his arms.

"Junko, get Aerrow into the infirmary," she ordered breathlessly.

"Are you both alright?" Piper raised her voice, glancing around at Finn and Leah. They both nodded, obviously shaken up from the past couple of hours. "Finn, that leg wound looks pretty bad," she raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed in defeat. "Leah, do you want to come with us to the infirmary? I guess you want to see Aerrow," she smiled weakly at the girl, trying to hide the concern she had for the Sky Knight. Leah shrugged and muttered, "Sure."

The group began to make their way to the infirmary, passing Stork on the way.

"I told you the plan would work, Stork," she called over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah. It so worked when you came back with Aerrow _unconscious._" he muttered under his breath.

"He'll be fine," she said, obviously hearing his muttering. Piper only wished she was as confident as she sounded.

They carried on down the hallway until they reached the infirmary, where they met Junko coming out of the doorway. She smiled at him and brushed past the wallop, walking over to where Aerrow lay unconscious on the bed.

"Aerrow?" she whispered, and he shifted his position slightly. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he squinted up at her.

"Piper? W-where am I?" he rasped and she brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face.

"You're on the _Condor._ Don't worry, you're safe now," she whispered reassuringly.

If only she knew how wrong she was.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't worry, this isn't the end! Unless you were hoping it was... then I'm very sorry XD**

**Thanks for reading this far and don't forget to review xox**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sooooo... It's been a while hasnt it? Oops..**

**So I kinda lost interest in this story for a while and life took over and yeah... But I'm back now! :D**

**Here's chapter 10 and I hope you like :D**

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><p>Slowly pushing the door to the infirmary open, Piper made her way over to the bed with a small box in her hand. She glanced down at her friend; he was unconscious and muttering quietly under his breath in his sleep. She had taken off his tattered shirt beforehand and one side of his chest was completely bruised and slightly swollen. The crystal mage let out a quiet sigh. She hated seeing her friends like this; although she was glad that they had found the sky knight and escaped. Although, he wasn't exactly <em>talking <em>to her.

In fact, he seemed to be talking to someone else.

"_No... Don't hurt them... It's me you want..." _were the only words that she could pick up. She quickly bent down and picked up a roll of bandages from the box and leaned over Aerrow, inspecting the wound on his arm, telling herself that he wasn't saying anything, and that she was imagining things.

She just couldn't quite convince herself.

The sky knight let out a quiet groan as she picked up an ice pack from the box, and her eyes flickered with concern. Piper pressed the ice pack to Aerrow's elbow, which she knew was broken after what Dark Ace had done to her friend. The sky knight's emerald orbs suddenly flew open, and his eyes flicked around the room disconcertingly.

"Aerrow?" Piper gasped. "Aerrow, it's just me," she assured him as his eyes settled onto her figure and he relaxed.

"How are you feeling?" she questioned.

"A bit sore." he mumbled.

"A bit?" she said with a raised eyebrow. Aerrow smirked.

"Okay, maybe more than a bit. But I'll live,"

Her face faded into a look of concentration as she picked up the ice pack again. Her gaze flickered over to Aerrow's face and he was staring intently ahead, deep in thought.

"You alright?" she asked quietly. Aerrow nodded, wincing as he took in a painful breath.

"Just thinking." he murmured. Piper threw him a sideways look. "What about?"

The teenager closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them and muttering, "Everything,"

Piper nodded in understanding. "I'm guessing being in Cyclonia wasn't... Easy, then?"

"Take a wild guess," the sky knight smirked, but Piper didn't miss the haunted look in his green eyes.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to... But what actually happened? You look like you've been through the wars," she asked tentatively.

"I feel like it too," he muttered, avoiding her gaze. "Where do I start? All she did at first was what you saw... Eventually she began using a whip and even ordered Dark Ace to fight me when I was weak and weaponless... All because she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer," he murmured, his voice almost inaudible.

Piper's eyes were wide with horror. "I want to kill her. I really do. What did she even want from you?"

"She wanted me to join her. I obviously wasn't going to say yes, was I?" the sky knight's gaze flickered with pain and anger. "There were other things, but... I really don't want to talk about it right now," he glanced up to meet her eyes and the crystal mage nodded understandingly.

There was a long awkward silence between the two.

"So... Do you want to come down to the bridge and find the others? They probably want to see you," Piper attempted to break the awkwardness.

"Sure," Aerrow grinned. He swung his legs over the bed and, forgetting his injuries, let out small cry of pain. A hand clutched his chest and his eyes scrunched shut for a few seconds. Piper rushed to his side and rummaged through the first aid kit, then picked out an ice pack.

"Are you okay?" she gasped.

Aerrow nodded. She placed the ice pack in his hands. "Here, keep this on it. It'll help ease the pain,"

"Thanks," he gasped out.

"You ready?" she asked and Aerrow nodded with a smile.

She helped him stand and together they made their way to the bridge, and were met with tired, but smiling faces. Junko stood and made his way over to them.

"Aerrow!" he exclaimed and scooped him up into a bear hug.

"Ow, Junko, can't breathe..."

"Oh, sorry!" he cried and dropped his friend. Aerrow staggered backwards slightly with a hand on his chest.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a weak grin.

Finn was stood next to Piper, watching with a grin on his face. "How you doing?" he greeted his friend.

"Good," Aerrow smiled and laughed, and the smile briefly turned into a grimace.

Even Stork turned from the helm and smiled at the group briefly.

A sudden blue flash sped across the room and Radarr was suddenly wrapped around Aerrow's neck. The sky knight let out a chuckle and Radarr scuttled onto his shoulder.

"Good to see you, buddy," he said with a smile. The sky monkey chirped happily and Aerrow grinned.

Stork's voice suddenly sounded in the room. "Someone's approaching! I think it's Starling," he cried. Piper rushed to his side and Aerrow followed a little slower.

"That's definitely Starling," Piper smiled. "What could she possibly want?"

What the group didn't know was the terror and danger soon to come.


End file.
